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WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2006  The report issued today by the Iraq Study Group offers an opportunity for government leaders to come together and work toward a solution in Iraq, and the administration will take the report’s recommendations very seriously, President Bush said here today.

“This report gives a very tough assessment of the situation in Iraq,” Bush said after receiving a copy of the report this morning at the White House. “It is a report that brings some really very interesting proposals, and we will take every proposal seriously, and we will act in a timely fashion.”

Members of the administration and Congress won’t agree on every proposal put forth in the report, Bush acknowledged, but added that this is an important opportunity for leaders to work together for the good of the country. He thanked the members of the commission for their work, noting that they have made a vital contribution to the U.S. and the future of Iraq and the Middle East.

“We can achieve long-lasting peace for this country, and it requires tough work,” Bush said. “It also requires a strategy that will be effective, and we’ve got men and women of both political parties around this table who spent a lot of time thinking about the way forward in Iraq and the way forward in the Middle East.”

The 10-member bipartisan Iraq Study Group is co-chaired by former Secretary of State James Baker and former Congressman Lee Hamilton. The group’s report will now move to Congress for consideration.